How Do You Handle Adversity?

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things have been so hard for her. She didn't know how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that just as one problem was solved, another arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. There he filled three pots with water, put them on the stove and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots came to a boil.

In one pot he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems and he was making this strange concoction.

A half an hour later, he walked over to the stove and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a third bowl.

Turning to her he asked, "Darling what do you see?"

Smartly, she replied, "Carrots, eggs, and ground coffee beans."

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did so and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.

Humbly, she asked, "What does it mean Father?"

He explained:

"Each of them faced the same adversity, 212 degrees of boiling water. However each reacted differently.

The carrots went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after going into boiling water, they softened and became weak.

The eggs were fragile. Their thin outer shells protected a liquid center. But after sitting in the boiling water, their insides became hardened.

The coffee beans are unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they became stronger and richer."

"Which are you?" he asked his daughter.

When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?

Are you like the carrots, eggs, or coffee beans?

Are you the carrots that seem hard, but with the smallest amount of pain, adversity, or heat you wilt and become soft with no strength?

Are you the eggs, which start off with a malleable heart, a fluid spirit? But after a death, a breakup, a divorce, or a layoff you became hardened and stiff? Your shell looks the same but you become so bitter and tough, with a stiff spirit and heart, internally.

Or are you like the coffee beans? The beans don't reach their peak flavor and robustness until they are in water that reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, they just taste better.

When things are at their worst, do you get better? When people complain the most, do your praises increase? When the hour is the darkest and trials are at their greatest, does your worship elevate to another level?

How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg, or coffee bean?